Tag Archives: family

Holy Week is much anticipated in the Philippines mostly because it is the time wherein families can go on a vacation but more importantly it is the time to reflect & pray. Since not all of you are my friends on Facebook (although you can like My Nocturnal Journal instead, heehee 🙂 ) I’d like to share with you some of the photos during my family’s Holy Week getaway.

Activity #1 playing at our aunt & uncle’s front lawn.

G loves balls more than any other toy (iPhone exempted)

w/ her dad J throwing the ball in such a model fashion :p

who's tired? I am-Mom 🙂

G+ball= HAPPINESS

Activity #2 Swimming

swimming time!

first ever water slide ride, not afraid!

Activity #3 Bonding w/ cousins

see-saw time with Ahia Noshy

G w/ cousin Caleb

G & J

Activity #4 Beach time

beach babe

Activity #5 Getting crazy & spending time w/family

G w/ her crazy parents

my beach essentials

not tan enough

spot Nemo

coral love

cute colored stingray

everybody say "O"

There you have it! I hope everyone had a good and meaningful Holy Week vacation!

Now that I am a mother to a 7-month old baby girl, I’ve been asked the same question far too many times in the span of 7-months: “What do you do now?” and I always answer with confidence that I am now not only a housewife but a mother.

I don’t like it when people have this weird awkward reaction when they learn that the women they know are full-time moms or housewives. People tend to have this look that they’re thinking: why-be-ONLY-a-mother-when-you-can-do-so-much-more?!

I have observed even before I was a mom that most women I know (that are moms) when asked this question starts to have this uncertainty & disdain over their answers. It’s like being bullied secretly by men (not only men) and other women who have careers & count singlehood as their priority.

Don’t get me wrong, I admire people who are successful in their chosen career but I admire more the women who have chosen family above everything else because it’s hard to give up on something you know you’re good at and something you can call your own, yet it is even harder to focus all your energy and knowledge to your family’s needs.

Why motherhood is the most fulfilling yet hardest job ever? Let me give you a few random reasons why.

Mothers literally carry their children for 9 months, creating them in her likeness & ability.

Mothers’ primary role is to raise their children.

A human being is depending on you, and not just any human being but someone who is linked to you by body,blood & soul

Mothers are on-call 24/7 and may require overtime without.

Everything mothers do is without monetary compensation.

Mothers instinctively become their child’s stronghold & protector, even if the mother thinks she’s weak to be so.

In the world of motherhood, “bahala na” and half-cooked decisions/doings are not accepted.

Mothers exert more effort to give their best and their all in everything they do.

A mother and child share the same identity in the child’s first few months of living. They go together as one.

Mother’s job is to take (away) all the pain, fear & doubts of their children.

Mothers are role models not only for their kids but for their kid’s friends, their family and everyone immediate to her members of the family.

Mothers are teachers and guidance councilors, sometimes they also tend to be a tutor and even the principal.

Mothers are also the best friend, the first girlfriend, the playmate, the classmate and the shopping buddy of their kids.

I could go on and list down all the things that mothers can and are willing to do for their children. I am one of them, I believe there is no better job description motherhood entails and the reward could only result to one: on how the child grows up to become somebody somewhere through the mother’s guidance.

Now here are a few good reasons why I love being a mom and housewife:

I don’t need to work regularly to provide for my family.

I wake up late in the morning or sleep late at night without worrying about my job.

I get to bathe,feed,burp and put my daughter to sleep.

Afternoon naps and playtime with my daughter.

I control my own time & schedule.

I get trips to the salon, spa and gym regularly.

I get to see my daughter grow before my eyes (literally).

I get to see my husband appreciate the work I’ve put up in maintaining a good household & in utilizing my skills.

I am stress-free.

I wake up each day with a smile, looking forward to a spontaneous day.

I get to appreciate the simplest things in life.

I get to watch my favorite series everyday.

I have a free time.

Best of all, I am closer to my child and have a bond (with my family) that time cannot bring back nor money cannot buy.

So to all mothers and soon-to-be mothers, next time you’re asked by someone that question. Answer it with pride & confidence because everyone can be a child but not everyone can be a mother.

May has always been a busy month for me and Mr. Go. It’s his dad & mom’s birthday, our annual visit to Antipolo Church , our beach trip, our Ninang’s birthday, and now added is his boss’ birthday, the election (for 2010) and Mother’s Day.

We don’t really celebrate Mother’s Day, just a simple lunch with my family and dinner with his, that’s our traditional Mother’s Day but this year is different. This is actually my very first Mother’s Day and I was somewhat not used to getting messages in Facebook, Twitter and on my mobile phone. Mr. Go surely knows how to do last-minute things, since I don’t really like flowers and I’ve been wanting to cut down on sweets the only thing proper to do is treat me to some shopping! Thanks so much for that! 😉 How wonderful it is to be a mother knowing you have the best husband and the most adorable daughter! Now, that’s a Mother’s Day treat!

Mother’s Day is a way to celebrate how much we love and show how much we appreciate our mothers. It is true the saying that “we will only understand something once we’ve been in that situation”. Yes, I am one of those daughters who can never understand the traditional kind of “love” a mother shows her daughter. How conservative a mom is, how eager they are in giving us the best of almost everything in the world, how all out she can be in supporting you in what you love to do, how she can be your best-est friend yet worse enemy, how she can be your secret-keeper and your secret-spoiler at the same time. Eventually I learned that every mother is different, now that I am one myself. It’s our unusual yet unique way of loving and showing that love, it is our passion not obligation to instinctual care and protect for our child, and it is our undying and unconditional love that sets us apart from all the other “titles” or “roles” in the world.

I salute all the working moms for they manage to juggle between motherhood and career. I salute all the OFW moms for no matter how hard & difficult it is to be apart from their child/ren they still manage to do so. I salute all the full-time moms for their ultimate career is to take really good care of their child/ren. I salute all single moms for they do well raising their child/ren all by themselves. I salute all the mothers in the world for without them we wouldn’t exist! I have nothing but respect for all the mothers in the world.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO OUR MOMMIES !

WE LOVE BOTH OF YOU!

Mommy Tong

Mama Go

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mommies! 🙂

Don’t ever take for granted the people you love. Say you love them and show you love them, it’s never too late to do so 🙂 YAY!

Although I have experienced some of the “physical” attributes of domestication one thing is for sure, that I wasn’t prepared for the emotional side of it.

I’ve learned to take care of a baby when I was 18. I’ve taken care of my sister’s daughter from the moment she came home from the hospital up until before she turned a year old, it was because my brother-in-law was working away & my sister needed help. Since I am fond of babies I gave it a try & actually liked it. It was our mom who taught me how to feed, change nappy, burp, and bathe a baby. I was in charge of the night shift, since I am a night person everything was easy peasy.

When it comes to home making I think I am also pretty good at it. Mom really loves fixing the house & I together with my other sister are her assistants when it comes to it. She taught us well when it comes to proper decoration, assortment,organizing & storage of things.

Cooking on the other hand needed no forced lesson from my mom. We love eating & cooking is one of my mom’s specialty. She’s a kapampangan & it is proven that Pampangeneos are excellent cooks! It’s second nature for her to cook & for her it’s not a task at all. I remember my sisters & I would watch our mom cook & would let us assist her & actually earn from it during summer. With that I’ve learned to marinate & cook steak at the age of 13 and bake at the aged 10.

So if you ask me, what’s left to be accomplished? I say the emotional side of being domesticated was something I wasn’t prepared for. Sure all these “chores” are easy to do once you’ve learned & mastered it but nobody can teach you how to feel & react to things & issues that comes with being domesticated. Of course advices & stories from parents, relatives & friends are helpful but at the end of the day it’s between you, your husband, & children but most especially, it’s the emotional battle within yourself that you have to face & figure out.

I’ve always included in my prayers that if there’s something I need strength for it’s not to endure the physical pain but the emotional struggle that I might have to face.

Yes, everything seemed natural for me & being “accidentally domesticated” at a young age by my sisters & mother really helped me to become a mature person. It’s the emotional naturalization that I needed to learn for myself, and it began when Mr. Go proposed to me 2 years ago, now that’s blissful domestication. 🙂